AirborneM2M™ User Guide
22
ANTENNA
The unit supports antenna connection through a single Hirose U.FL connector, located on the top
surface of the radio next to the RF shielding.
Any antenna used with the system must be designed for operation within the 2.4GHz ISM band and
specifically must support the 2.412GHz to 2.482GHz. For 802.11b/g, the 5GHz ISM band and must
specifically support 5.1GHz to 5.9GHz for 802.11a operation. They are required to have a VSWR of 2:1
maximum referenced to a 50
Ω
system impedance.
ANTENNA SELECTION
The Airborne radio supports a number of antenna options, all of which require connection to the U.FL
connectors on the radio. Ultimately the antenna option selected will be determined by a number of factors,
including consideration of the application, mechanical construction and desired performance. Since the
number of possible combinations is endless, we will review some of the more common solutions in this
section. If your application is not covered during this discussion, please contact B+B SmartWorx Technical
Support for more specific answers.
The available antenna connections include:
Host board mounted antenna
Host chassis mounted antenna
Embedded antenna
In addition to the above options, location and performance need to be considered. The following sections
discuss these items.
HOST BOARD MOUNTED ANTENNA
Host board mounted requires that an antenna connection is physically mounted to the host system board. It
also requires that the host board include a U.FL connector to allow a U.FL-to-U.FL coaxial lead to connect
from the radio to the host board. It will then require 50
Ω
matched PCB traces to be routed from the U.FL
connector to the antenna mount.
There are several sources for the U.FL-to-U.FL coaxial cable. These include Hirose, Sunridge and IPEX.
Please contact B+B SmartWorx for further part numbers and supply assistance.
This approach can simplify assembly but does require that the host system configuration can accommodate
an antenna location that is determined by the host PCB. There are also limitations on the ability to seal the
enclosure when using this approach.
This approach also restricts the selection of available antennas. When using this approach, antennas that
screw or press fit to the PCB mount connector must be used. There are many options for the antenna
connector type. However, if you want to utilize the FCC/IC modular approval, the connector choice must
comply with FCC regulations. These state that a non-standard connector, e.g. RP-TNC/RP-SMA, is
required. TNC/SMA connectors are not allowed.